No Kawhi Leonard For The Rest Of Season?

One Spurs superstar is not expecting to see Kawhi Leonard back on the floor for the rest of the season. That superstar happens to be Manu Ginobili.

Ginobili talked to reporters on Wednesday before their game against the Washington Wizards and told ESPN's Michael C. Wright, "He is not coming back. For me, he's not coming back because it's not helping (to think Leonard is returning). We fell for it a week ago again. I guess you guys made us fall for it. But we have to think that he's not coming back; that we are who we are, and that we got to fight without him. That shouldn't be changing, at least until he is ready for the jungle."

That sounds like sound comments to me, despite recent reports that the Spurs were optimistic that Leonard would return against the Pelicans on March 15. Leonard ended up missing that game. Five games remain this month as well as 11 for the rest of the season, and it's still a toss-up on whether or not Leonard will actually be back on the court. However, based on what he has gone through this season, it seems more than likely than Leonard will probably be out for the rest of the season. If so, the Spurs might end up missing the playoffs.

Ginobili's words do carry some gravity, as the media these days have been overhyped about Leonard's return to the court, and the hype has mostly been exaggerated. I was less than hyped about Leonard's return because I didn't think it would actually happen this season. I can understand his desire to make it back onto the court and be as healthy and as productive as possible. The fact of the matter is, he's not the same player he was when he went out with the injury and head coach Gregg Popovic has made it clear that he does not want him back on the court unless he is fully healthy and free of any pain.

The Spurs are hoping for a healthy Kawhi Leonard right now, especially with the position they are in the Western Conference. They're in a tight race in the Western Conference and currently sit in sixth place. They're just 0.5 games separating them from the seventh-seed Minnesota Timberwolves and they would be playing the Portland Trail Blazers if the season ended today.

Right now, the Spurs are hoping that Kawhi Leonard comes back, but Manu Ginobili is indeed taking the approach that the Spurs may have to go the rest of the way without him. It's understandable. I don't want to see him back on the court unless he is fully healthy and able to carry this team on his back. Right now, he can't do that, and unless that happens, the Spurs will have to keep fighting. They've done a good job at that so far. We'll see what happens.